Sthaviravali

Author(s): Ratnaprabhvijay
Publisher: Jain Granth Prakashak Sabha

Page 77

66
by coming in collision with a running cow and this event sowed the seed of great animosity between the two princes.
Becoming enraged by the derision and taunts from fourordre Visakhānandi and his servants, Muni Viśva bhūti took an oath of killing Viśākhānandi. The soul of Viśvabhūti became Triprishtha Vasudeva, during the previous eighteenth Bhava of Sramaņa Bhagavān Mahāvīra and Visakhānandi was born as the lion whom Triprishtha Vasudeva killed. The soul of Viśākbānandi degraded himself considerably by vile derision and mean tauntings, without any cause. It is important to notice how a soul degrades himself in ever-increasing suocession. One cannot imagine at what low level a soul will stop in its down-ward motion, when once the soul becomes, the enjoyer of a degraded condition and how inevitably he suffers the terrible evil consequences incidental to that degra. ded state. How disastrous become the evil consequences of even a small mistake? After wandering miserably thru a number of future lives, the soul of Prince Visakhānandi was born as a farmer. Had it not been for the mercy of śramaņa Bhagavān Mahāvīra towards him, the duration of his existence in this Samsāra would not have become limited. It was also thru the grace of the Venerable Ascetic, that Ganadhara Mahārāja Indrabhūti Gautama initiated the farmer into his Order of Ascetics. The Farmer-ascetic acquired AFY* Samyaktva, Right Belief by excellent meritorious ideas in his mind on his way, when he was being led to Samavasaraņa by the Ga nadhara Mabārāja and his existence in Samsāra became thereby limited. This is an excellent example of the mercy of Šrama na Bhagavān Mahāvīra. He had compassion for the welfare of his enemy on account of his love of universal affection for all living beings.
Although Ganadhara Mahārāja Indra bhūti Gantama had reached a high stage of spirituality, he never spared any pains in assiduously practising severe austerities. He had a firm belief in the external and internal penance as the means